He turned to embrace her and kissed her hair. “I thought I saw something. Probably an animal outside, but I better check in with Greyson just in case.”
“All right.” She stepped back, grudgingly sliding free of his arms.
Her cell buzzed on the table behind them. “That’s weird.” She frowned. “Who would call at this time of night?” She picked it up and glanced over at Drake. “It’s David.”
“Shit,” Drake replied. This couldn’t be good news, and there’s no way it was a fucking animal outside. He quickly made his way around the living room, pulling all the drapes closed and turning off lights.
Heather answered the call. “David?” She pulled her hair over her shoulder and frowned. “How am I supposed to do that? If I call her after midnight and no one has died she’s going to know something is up.” She paused, shaking her head. “What if I can’t get her to come?”
She groaned as she lowered her cell and sat on the sofa with her head in her hands. “David was at my sister’s place earlier tonight, and now he needs me to get Ashley to leave so he can see if his hunch about the figurehead is right. Apparently, she had some magic wards on the shed and it tipped her off that someone was poking around, so he’s worried she’s going to move it someplace else.”
Relief swamped Drake’s tight shoulders. The sooner they had the figurehead and Ashley was in custody, the safer Heather would be. He came over beside her and gripped her knee. “This is good news, love. While you call her, I’m going to check the yard. Greyson texted me back. He wasn’t outside the window, so I want to know who was.”
“I thought you said it was an animal.” She raised a brow.
“Just want to be sure.” He shrugged. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
He kissed her forehead and turned on the porch light before slipping out the door. His dagger hung from his belt, but he’d feel better with his hammer and pistol. Sadly, those were locked in his truck. Sticking to the thicker shadows under the Spanish-moss-covered trees, he jogged toward the street.
“Hello?”
He froze at the sound of a woman’s voice and scanned the area. He didn’t see anyone.
“Heather? Isn’t it past your bedtime?”
They weren’t talking to him. He clenched his jaw and forced his legs forward. He recognized that voice. Ashley.
“The hope chest can wait until morning. I’m in bed, and there’s no way I’m driving all the way over to your place right now.”
But she was already here. Why? And why was she lying to Heather?
Drake carefully unlocked and opened the door to his truck, praying she wasn’t close enough to see the flash of his dome light in the cab. Once he had it off, he leaned in, reaching under the seat for his tool belt and gun case while his mind wrestled with the idea that the Peeping Tom in the window tonight could’ve been Ashley.
What was she doing here? Did she think the person messing with her shed was Heather? He wasn’t sure how far away Ashley lived these days, but even from a new suburban neighborhood she could reach the historic district of Savannah in a half hour.
David had been at her place earlier tonight.
Maybe Ashley did think Heather had been trying to steal from her.
He followed the sound of her voice around the north side of the house. As he rounded the corner, he froze.
A gutted cottonmouth snake lay on the sidewalk, curved in the shape of an S. Written in blood were the words:
Thou shalt not steal
Drake fumbled with his phone, wishing he’d paid more attention when Colton had shown him how to take a photo. After a few wrong buttons, he snapped a picture of the carnage, cursing under his breath. Things were getting more fucked up by the minute.
Had the Serpents followed Ashley to Heather’s house? Maybe they thought they could scare Heather into convincing Ashley to return the figurehead. Or maybe this warning was for Ashley. Who the fuck knew?
He stuffed his phone into his pocket and froze. He no longer heard Ashley’s voice. Damn it. He ran around the corner as a black van stopped silently at the curb. Two robed men dragged a woman with long dark hair toward the open side door.
Drake ran, pulling his blade free. His pulse drummed in his ears, the rhythm calming his jagged nerves. He shouted, distracting the man on the right. As he turned to look, Drake sent the dagger sailing end over end.
The blade buried itself in the man’s chest. He dropped to his knees, his fingers weakly pawing at the handle until he crumpled to the ground. The woman launched an attack on the other man, breaking free of his grip, but instead of running toward Drake, she bolted past the van and into the darkness.
What the fuck? Drake rushed to the van, but the other robed man dove through the open side door before he could get there. It rolled shut as the tires screeched, and the black van disappeared. By the time Drake got to the edge of the street, the van was too far away to make out a license plate.
The Serpents got away, but what about Ashley? He looked both ways for any sign of her, but nothing moved in the square. He retrieved his knife from the robed fanatic and checked for a wallet or ID. Nothing. Shit.
Frustration soured his stomach. He couldn’t leave a body here, but he also needed to check on Heather.
After wiping his blade clean on the bottom of his pants leg, he sheathed it and bent down to hoist the body onto his shoulder. On the high seas, they tossed dead men into the sea. The world wasn’t as simple anymore. Science made disposing of bodies more complicated and far from his expertise.
With a grunt, he straightened, carrying the man over his shoulder like a sack of
